Strangetown, Meet the eXtremes
by SClownzZzZz
Summary: Life was never easy for Ripp Grunt with his horrible family life, but when a very strange family builds a giant X across the street and moves in, Ripp may finally get the opportunity he's been dreaming of. R&R Chapter Twelve up: The Final Chapter.
1. Olive's Garden

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Sims.

* * *

**Strangetown, Meet the eXtremes **by SClownzZzZz

Chapter One

Ripp, a seventeen year old rebel, with shoulder-length brown hair, lies in a familiar place, in Olive Specter's garden. He places a bonquet of flowers on his mother, Lyla's, grave.

"I know everyone thought you didn't care about us mom," Ripp spoke quietly, "But I know you did, and next to Buck, you were the only one I could actually stand."

It was rare for anyone to see the misfit like this, it was probably because after his mother had left the family, he hated everything that had to do with them. His father, General Buzz Grunt was the biggest jerk in all of Strangetown, constantly abusing his high military status to get the power that he always wanted. And the sad part is, he actually did.

Now, Ripp had two brothers, an older one and a younger one. Ripp's older brother Tank, was always being pressured and favored by their father. General Buzz wanted nothing more than his first son to become the biggest general that Strangetown had ever seen. Though Ripp hated to be known as the "bad son" in the family, there was one thing that he was proud of, the fact that his father could never control him.

Ripp's younger brother Buck, was the kid that everyone loves. Since Buck wasn't quite raised as harshly as Tank and Ripp were, he didn't despise anyone in the family. Ripp always felt the closest to him, and hoped that he wouldn't turn out like Tank had.

It always puzzled Ripp about how General Buzz didn't care about the family's poor reputation in the neighborhood. The Smiths, one of the favorite and most heard about family in all of Strangetown absolutely hated General Buzz and Tank. The fact that both of their reputations were slimey stinkballs, didn't help much either. But Ripp didn't care how much people hated his family, because to be honest, he hated them too and all he ever wanted to do was escape them.

That's why Ripp was in Olive Specter's garden, he wanted to escape his life.

"I wonder how my life got so bad," Ripp quietly whispered to the trees, "Maybe it was just this way all along."

Ripp slowly lifts himself up from off of the ground and brushes himself off, "Oh well, I guess I should probably be getting back-"

"So you're just going to leave a old dying woman alone in her garden?"

Ripp quickly turns around, his heartbeat racing. Olive places a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright dear," she softly chimes, "I knew you'd be in here."

"You did?" Ripp replied, staring straight at the ground.

"Yes," Olive spoke again, "I knew you wanted to talk to someone, so why don't you talk to me?"

"That's a very nice offer but, I really have to be going back home, it's almost night time," Ripp spoke inching his way towards the gate.

"Since when are you afraid of breaking the rules, or is this Tank I'm talking to?"

Ripp stops in his tracks, debating whether or not he should turn around.

"You know, just because your life is going downhill, doesn't mean that you have to give up completely," Olive spoke up, "Things could change for you, just like that."

"You've been telling me that for years now," Ripp turns around and faces her, "Just face it, it's never going to happen!"

"Sometimes you have to be patient son," Olive responded, taking a seat in her chair, "You know, I heard they were building a new university here, that could open opportunities for you."

"There's no way my dad would ever let me go to college."

"That may be true, but you have a job don't you?" Olive asked.

"I guess but..." Ripp trails off.

The ground begins to shake as three construction vehicles speed past the Specter's house. Ophelia races out of the house, her hands covering her ears, and over to her grandmother.

"What's going on?" Ophelia hollers over the noise.

"Oh, just some new project their working on across the street. It looks like we may be getting some new neighbors," Olive replied to her young niece.

"Oh," Ophelia turns around, "Hey Ripp, what are you doing here?"

Ripp tries to shout over the noise, "What?"

"I SAID-" Ophelia turns to the construction workers, "COULD YOU QUIET DOWN A LITTLE?!"

The noises get quieter, Ophelia breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

The three of them sit in silence.

"Hey, is it just me or does that building look like a giant X?" Ophelia spoke up.

"Huh, yeah, it kind of does," Ripp replies gazing across the street, he looks up at the sky, "Wait a minute, why is it dark out?"

"Because it's eleven at night."

"Aww crap," Ripp responds, "I-I-got to go or I'm dead, see you guys later!"

Ripp races out of the garden, leaving two very concerned individuals inside.

"Sometimes I worry about that kid," Ophelia spoke aloud.

"Yes," Olive agrees, "He's just like his mother..."


	2. Caught!

Chapter Two

Ripp is racing down the street trying to maintain his breath. _"Great idea Ripp staying out past midnight on a Thursday," _he thinks to himself, _"And you honestly don't think that they're going to notice?"_

Ripp comes to the Grunt household and runs toward the front door, _"Crap, too obvious," _he thinks before withdrawing. _"Come on, think...I know! The window!"_

Ripp goes over one of the front windows and pulls it open. He jumps in, landing on the family room floor. Ripp slowly gets up and pushes himself off, only to find himself face-to-face with his older brother. Tank raises his eyebrow, "I'm not even going to ask," he states, before storming out of the room.

Ripp stands there in silence, _"Genius, Ripp, genius."_

THE NEXT MORNING

A siren sounds, causing Ripp to fall out of bed and onto the floor. He gets up groggily before looking around for the source, "What the heck-?"

General Buzz bursts into the room, "GET UP LADIES, IT'S TIME TO PRACTICE DRILLS!"

Ripp looks outside at the still-dark sky, "But it's three in the morning."

"Exactly, sleep is for the weak" General Buzz states, "Now put on your gym clothes."

THREE MINUTES LATER

Ripp and Tank are seen in their gym clothes standing nearby the obstacle course with General Buzz in front of them. Both of them are struggling to stay awake.

"Don't worry son, someday you'll learn to live without ever having to sleep, just like me," General Buzz states to his exhausted children.

Ripp tiredly looks around and turns to his dad, "Hey, where's Buck?"

"Buck needs his sleep, after all, he's the cute one," he pauses before continuing, "Now today we're going to run the course."

"But we always run the course, can't we do something different?" Ripp says, stepping with his feet, trying to keep himself awake.

"You didn't let me finish private," General Buzz begins to pace in front of them, "Sure, you may have run it several times in the past, but you've never done it on your hands before."

"WHAT?"

General Buzz turns to his favorite son, "Tank, since your brother is acting unreasonable, why don't you go first."

"Yes, sir."

"Gee, that's great, you do that. I'm just going to lie down here in the bushes," Ripp says before he collapses.

Ripp wakes up in the bushes, with General Buzz looking down at him.

"Son?" he says gently.

"Yeah dad?"

"YOU FAIL!"

General Buzz stamps a "failure" sticker on his forehead. Ripp groans.

Ripp walks into the kitchen and tears the failure sticker off of his forehead. He struggles to get it off of his hand before tossing it into the trashcan with a pile of others.

"Hey Ripp! Check it out!"

Ripp races over to Buck who is looking out the family room window. Buck, seemingly excited, points out the window to a house down the street. "We're getting new neighbors!"

Ripp glances out the window, only to find three moving vans in front of the X-shaped house. "Huh, that's weird."

Buck begins to jump up and down he turns to Ripp, "Do you think they have kids?"

"I don't know maybe, but unfortunately I don't think we're ever going to meet them."

Buck looks down at the ground disappointed, "Oh yeah," he says quietly, "But maybe we can meet them at school!"

"Now wait a minute Buck, we're not even sure that they have kids, they're probably just another bunch of adult wackos."

Buck gives Ripp a look on uncertainty, "Maybe, but don't you think you could believe just a little bit?"

Ripp sighs and looks down at the floor, "Fine Buck, I-"

General Buzz walks by and slaps Ripp, "NO LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW!"

Ripp groans and glances at Buck. Buck looks down at his feet, "I'm sorry Ripp, I just wanted you to have something to look forward to."

"It's okay," Ripp states before looking at the strange shaped house again, "We all know my life is pretty much over."


	3. The eXtremes

Chapter Three

MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF STRANGETOWN

"My life is over," Isabella eXtreme states while lying down on her bed, surrounded by piles of boxes.

Her older brother Brent walks over to her, his arms crossed, "Now don't say that, this'll just take some adjusting, that's all."

Isabella sighs; she was wishing that what Brent said was right, even though deep down she knew that not even the strangest neighborhood would accept her crazy family.

You see, the eXtremes were exactly the kind of family that neighbors loved to spread gossip about. The family consisted of six people; Alban, Lenda, Brent, Isabella, Louie and Gramma; and each one of them had an extreme personality trait, as well as extremely different hair colors and aspirations. Alban eXtreme, the father, was a super neat, though quite short-tempered man. He was very protective of his children, and was a very stern fortune sim. He had jet black hair and was known for doing very unusual things.

Lenda eXtreme, the mother, was a super outgoing woman with brown hair. She always enjoyed meeting new people and trying outrageous things, so it was no surprise that she was a popularity sim. She never quite acted her own age, but no one in the family seemed to mind.

Brent eXtreme, was the oldest son. He was known for being super active, though really grouchy towards people that he didn't like. Surprisingly, Brent was a very big romance sim. Though to Isabella, he was one of the only people in the house that understood her, maybe it was because of their short age gap, or maybe it just because they were close since their childhood.

Then came Isabella, the middle child and only daughter of Alban and Lenda eXtreme. She, like her older brother, was a romance sim. Isabella was maxed out in playfulness, though she never seemed to act like it when she was around her family. She didn't have any friends outside of her family and usually didn't talk a lot. Because of her bright red hair, neighbors used to spread the rumor that she was adopted, but Isabella knows that isn't true.

Louie eXtreme was the youngest eXtreme in the family. The strange thing about Louie was that he was perfectly balanced in all of his personality traits and he actually had his mother's hair color. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that Louie was one of them, and that was exactly the way he wanted it.

Last but certainly not least was Gramma eXtreme, Alban's mother. She was the nicest, kindest person in the neighborhood. She was maxed out in niceness and was known for loving life. She adores her grandchildren and would do anything to help them. Along with Brent, Gramma is the only other person in the household that Isabella felt understood her and she could not imagine life without her.

The eXtremes used to live in Magic Town, but they were kicked out of their house by the mayor after trying to turn it into a giant X. So instead of living a seemingly-normal life, in a boring, normal-shaped house, they packed up their things and headed to the strangest town that they could find. Seven days later they found themselves in Strangetown, ready to start their new lives. But some of them weren't ready for it, and by the looks of it, the neighborhood wasn't either.

Gramma eXtreme is looking out the window at the moving trucks in front of their house. "Well, that's strange," she said.

Isabella gets off of her bed and walks over to the window, "What Gramma?"

Gramma sighs, placing her hand off of the window blinds, "I wonder why none of the neighbors have shown up to greet us. It looks like a ghost town outside."

Isabella looks at Gramma, before stepping back from the window, "You know how they are, they probably got scared off."

Gramma turns to Isabella, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Now Isabella, don't worry, we're going to fit in perfectly here. Just you wait and see."

Isabella looks down at the ground, holding back tears, "Yeah, sure Gramma."

MEANWHILE AT THE GRUNTS

Ripp is seen in his bedroom with his hands covering his ears trying to do his homework. Music is blasting in Tank's room.

"Unbelievable," Ripp says to himself before running down the hall.

Ripp bursts into Tank's room, only to find Tank doing one-handed push-ups on the floor. Tank looks up, barely budging, and glances at Ripp, "Yes?"

"Can you turn that down? I'm trying to do my homework!"

Tank turns off the radio and walks over to Ripp, "Well, I could turn it down, but then I'd have to tell dad that you were out past midnight last night."

Ripp's face turns to panic, "You wouldn't dare-"

"I would," Tank quickly responds.

"Why?"

"Because you'd get busted."

Ripp steps back and looks down at the floor. He then lifts his head firmly up.

"You know what? I don't care. Tell him what you want, I'm done with this!" Ripp storms out of the room, leaving his somewhat startled brother behind.

Ripp storms down the stairs and heads out the door. General Buzz stops him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere but here," Ripp states before storming out of the house. General Buzz and Buck race after him, as Ripp steps into the car.

"Now private, don't go all crazy on me," General screams after him, "DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE THAT DRIVEWAY!"

Ripp turns on the ignition and drives away.

Buck calls after him, "Ripp?"


	4. Meeting Isabella

Chapter Four

Ripp is seen driving down the street talking to two versions himself; one that is dressed like an angel and one that is dressed like a devil.

_"You do know that as soon as you go back home, your dad's going to kill you right?" _the angel Ripp speaks.

"Right now, I really don't care."

_"Serves your father right, he deserved it," _the devil Ripp says.

"Yeah, he did."

_"No, he didn't Ripp, your father was just trying to protect you,"_ says the angel Ripp.

Both Ripp and the devil Ripp glare at him.

"I'm just going to ignore this guy," Ripp states to himself before parking on the side of the road in front of the Strangetown swimming pool.

Ripp opens the door and gets out of the car, heading towards the pool. He sits down in front of it and looks down at his reflection, "Oh well, there's no use debating with myself over this, what's done is done. Who knows, maybe things will get better after this."

_"Why are you kidding yourself Ripp? Face it, you're stuck forever,"_ his reflection talks back.

"That's what you think, but you'll see, I'll get out of this-" Ripp looks down at his doubtful expression, "Oh who am I kidding? He's right, this is hopeless," Ripp hits his reflection in the water and stands up; knocking into someone.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry," Ripp speaks before looking up at the strange, brown-haired woman in front of him. He tenses up, waiting for the worst.

"Oh, that's alright," the woman says gently, "I was starting to think that there weren't any other people in this neighborhood."

Ripp looks up at the woman; finding that she was dressed very strangely, even for Strangetown. She was wearing an orange and yellow dress with a big purple bow tied in the back of it.

"Well, I probably should introduce myself," states the woman, "I am Lenda eXtreme, and I just moved in down the street."

Ripp steps back in awe, "You mean, in that giant X?"

"Yes, so you've seen it," Lenda responds joyfully, "You know, I have a daughter and son about you age, how would you like to come over and meet them? I'm sure they'd love to meet someone their age around here, plus we haven't gotten any visitors at all today; and the family's getting kind of lonely."

Ripp stands there in somewhat of a shock before shaking himself to his senses, _"Hmm, think Ripp, what would your dad say to this?" _

General Buzz Grunt appears in Ripp's thought bubble, _"Ripp, I forbid you from visiting those freaks!" _he states; the bubble pops.

"Okay," Ripp says smiling.

"Great!" Lenda says before leading him out of the pool area. "It's just down the street. By the way, I didn't catch your name, what was it again?"

"Ripp," Ripp states, "My name is Ripp Grunt."

FIVE MINUTES LATER

"...so that's why we decided to move here to Strangetown," Lenda finishes before stopping on the driveway, "But I wouldn't worry, I have a feeling that our family is going to-"

"Lenda?" Alban calls from the side of the house, "Can you take this box for a minute? I need to help empty out the rest of the truck."

"Oh sure," Lenda turns to Ripp, "I'll be right back." Lenda runs over to the other side of the X.

"But wait-Mrs. eXtreme, where am I supposed to-?" Ripp says. He then turns around; she vanished, he sighs, "Of course."

Ripp looks up at strange shaped house in front of him. "Wow, it looks a whole lot different from this angle." Ripp pauses before continuing, "Well I guess I should go in." He looks at the two doors located on either side of him, "Well this is extremely confusing."

MEANWHILE INSIDE

Brent and Isabella are seen watching television in the center of the house. Brent turns to Isabella, "Do you think this place has grass in the summertime?"

Isabella glances at him before gluing her eyes back on the TV, "I don't know, maybe, that one house had some."

"Huh, I never noticed that. I should go check it out," Brent says before getting up from off of the couch.

"Brent no-" Isabella says, trying to pull him back. The doorbell rings.

Isabella gets up from off of the couch and walks towards the side of the house, "Mom!" she shouts, "Someone's at the door!"

"Can you get that honey?" Lenda calls back, "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Okay, sure," Isabella states before handing towards the door, _"Louie probably locked himself out of the house again."_

Isabella opens the door, but instead of finding her brother, she finds a brown-haired, male teenager wearing jeans and a navy blue shirt with an orange stripe across the middle. She steps back dazed.

"Umm, hey?" Isabella manages to speak out, "Who are you?"

"Oh, uhh, I'm Ripp. I live down the street, is it okay if I come in?" Ripp says, scratching his head nervously.

"Sure, I guess," Isabella states before taking a step back.

Ripp steps into the house, gazing at the explosive colors of paint on the walls. He looks down at the floor, finding the carpet blinding, "Your house sure is colorful."

"Yeah," Isabella says, she sits down on the couch, "Is that bad?"

"No, it's kind of interesting actually. My house is really plain looking."

"You live down the street?" Isabella asks.

"Yeah, in that tan-colored house with all the machines of torture in front of it," Ripp nods, mentally kicking himself afterward, _"Why the heck did you say that? Now she's going to think you're crazy!" _Ripp laughs nervously, "So uhh, you like Strangetown?"

"It's alright, I'm kind of nervous though, I have to start school on Monday," Isabella responds, "I heard there's only four kids in the class."

Rick smiles, "Yeah, unfortunately that's accurate. But it's not too bad, less people to get in fights with right?" Ripp stops, _"Great job idiot, now she's going to think that you're even weirder!"_

Isabella laughs softly, "I never thought about it like that before," she pauses, "Hey, do you think, maybe, you could show me around the school?"

"Well I-"

"Hey Isabella!" Brent exclaims, taking a seat down next to his sister. He points to Ripp, "Who's this guy?"

"Hey, I'm Ripp," Ripp answers, "Uhh, your mother invited me over."

"Awesome! Finally some signs of existence from the neighborhood! You got any siblings?" Brent asks.

"Yeah, a few."

"Hey! You should bring them sometime," Brent states.

Ripp laughs nervously, "Yeah, maybe." Ripp pauses,_ "__Like Tank would ever show any signs of being a normal human being to anyone," _he adds to himself. Ripp glances at the clock on the wall, "Well, I hate to say this but I should probably be going now."

Ripp exits the house, Isabella turns to Brent, "Excuse me for a second, I have to do something."

Isabella races out of the house, "Wait!"

Ripp turns stops in his tracks and turns around, facing her, "Yes?"

"You never answered my question!"

"I thought it was obvious," Ripp shouts back.

"Oh," Isabella looks down at the ground, shuffling her feet.

"Of course I'll help you!" Ripp shouts from the street, "I'll see you later."

Isabella's face lights up; she waves after him, "Bye!"

Isabella stands in the driveway in awe, feeling the breeze. Though it was in an unfamiliar town, Isabella feels strangely comforted by it. She walks back inside of the house and turns to Brent.

"You know what?" Isabella states, "I changed my mind...I think I'm going to like this place."

* * *

**Author's Note: **As a lover of the Sims, I always wonder what other people do with the premade characters. Since this particular story was inspired by the events that happened in my game, what happened to the Grunt family in your game? Care to share? Feel free to review and tell me. Thanks again! : D


	5. He's My Brother

Chapter Five

General Buzz, Tank and Buck are eating at the dinner table. Buck looks at the empty seat in front of him.

"Daddy?" Buck asks, "Shouldn't we look for Ripp?"

"He knows when dinner is," General Buzz replies, barely moving a muscle. Buck slouches down in his seat.

MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF STRANGETOWN:

Ripp is frantically running down the street.

"Crap, crap, crap, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna-WHOA!"

A car stops right in front of Ripp, "GET OFF THE ROAD YOU CRAZY HOOLIGAN!"

Ripp continues running, and turns around, "Sorry!"

He hops the fence and goes to the side of the house. He stops, out of breath, and looks up at it. "How am I supposed to get in now?"

MEANWHILE INSIDE THE HOUSE

"You don't think he could've bought a train ticket and fled town, do you?" Tank asks searching around the living room.

"Tank, your brother is not _that_ smart," General Buzz responds.

"Well then he can't be that far, he's probably just-"

A strange noise comes from the top of the house.

"-on the roof," Tank completes.

General Buzz grabs and broom, walks outside of the house and looks up. Sure enough, Ripp is on the roof.

"BOY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? GET DOWN HERE!"

"Why would I want to?"

"BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T I'M GOING TO GROUND YOU!"

"No threat there," Ripp whispers down his breathe, moving on hands and knees to the other side.

"THAT'S IT-" General Buzz takes the broom and tries to push Ripp off the roof.

"Dad, no-!" Ripp shouts, struggling to stay on it.

An innocent bystander passes by the house; they stare at the scene in shock.

…

"So long story short, I fell off the roof and I'm grounded for the rest of my life," Ripp finishes to Ophelia and Johnny who are sitting across from him at one of the tables in the school.

"Well that would explain why you're covered in dirt," Ophelia states.

"Wait a minute, I'm confused. How did you know the first part when you weren't even there to see it?" Johnny asks.

"Hmm, I don't know. I guess I just assumed that that's what happened."

"Ripp!" someone calls from across the room; the girl begins frantically waving her hand.

"Since when is there another girl attending our school?" Ophelia asks, staring straight ahead.

"Her name is Isabella, she's nice okay?" Ripp says getting up, he waves back.

"Where are you going?"

"I promised I would help her," Ripp states jumping over the table and running over there.

"You know you could've just walked around-" Ophelia says, she turns to Johnny. He shrugs.

MEANWHILE ACROSS THE ROOM:

"Sorry about that," Ripp says arriving at the entrance, "I was just talking to my friends."

"Oh, that's cool," Isabella responds, she glances down at his clothes, "Uhh…"

"Gravity's not my friend," Ripp answers.

Isabella nods, "That explains it."

"Come on, there's some people I want you to meet," Ripp says, he grabs Isabella by the arm and walks her over to the table. He stops in front of Ophelia and Johnny.

"Isabella," he states, "This is Ophelia Nigmos."

"Nice to meet you," Isabella says, "I like your tie."

"Why thank you," Ophelia responds, she turns to Johnny and gives him a glare, "I told you it wasn't funny looking."

"And that's Johnny Smith," Ripp finishes, pointing across the table at him. She waves.

"Hey Ripp," Johnny speaks, "Did you tell her about Tank yet-?"

"Tank?" Isabella asks confused, she turns to Ripp, "Who's that?"

"No one," Ripp quickly responds, "It's nothing." Ripp turns to Isabella, "Excuse me for a second."

Ripp goes over to Johnny and moves him away from the table.

"Johnny!" Ripp whispers, "Why did you have to mention that?"

"I don't know, I thought she already knew," Johnny replies.

"Are you crazy? I don't want her to think that I come from a messed up family, what if she judges me?"

"Ripp, she lives in a house shaped like a giant X, I don't think she's going to judge you by your messed up family," Johnny states.

"I just don't want her to get scared away okay?" Ripp says, he pauses before continuing, "I mean everyone in the neighborhood knows that family isn't exactly the friendliest. I don't want her to find out-"

"Okay, okay, but just to warn you, Tank's heading this way."

"What?"

Ripp races over to Isabella and grabs her by the arm, "Well, look at the time, we should go now-"

"Wait, what?" Isabella says before following behind him.

Ripp and Isabella began racing through the cafeteria, "We'll take the back door; it's faster."

"But, Ripp-"

They exit out the front door and run across the street.

"Ripp," Isabella says between breaths, "Where are we going?"

"Uhh, to my house! I-I gotta show you my house!"

Ripp and Isabella running to the back of the Grunts' residence, they both stop in front of the swing set; panting heavily.

Ripp turns to Isabella, "So, did you like your first day of school?"

"It was alright," Isabella responds, still out of breath, "You have a nice house."

"Thanks," Ripp replies, looking into her eyes, "We can go in if you want."

Ripp goes over to the window and attempts to pull it open; it doesn't budge. _"Stupid Tank must've locked it,"_ he mutters under his breath.

"Why do you guys keep on talking about military vehicles?"

"That's not a military vehicle, he's my brother," Ripp says; he gasps, quickly pulling Isabella to the ground.

"What's going on?" Isabella asks.

"Nothing, we're just hiding."

"Since when do you have to hide in front of your own house?"

"Long story short, it all started when I was born…" Ripp says crawling on the ground; he picks up something in the dirt, "Got it!" he turns to Isabella, "Come on!"

"Okay," Isabella responds as she follows behind him into the darkness.


	6. Someone Cares

Chapter Six

"So this is your house," Isabella says glancing around the living room.

"Yep," Ripp replies, "This is it."

"It's kind of plain looking," Isabella states.

"Yeah, my dad hates colors," Ripp says, "Well, bright ones."

"That's funny," Isabella replies, "My dad only likes bright colors."

Ripp softly laughs, "That is funny-oww!"

A backpack hits Ripp in the face; knocking him to the floor. Tank walks into the room searching through the mail.

"Hey Ripp, did you get today's mail yet?"

Ripp gets up from off of the ground and brushes himself off, "No, I'm kind of busy okay?"

Tank puts the mail down and glances at Isabella in the center of the room, "Who's the girl?"

"Isabella, now go away," Ripp says trying to push Tank out of the room.

Tank pushes Ripp away and goes over to her, "Hey, I'm Tank."

"Hey, I'm Isabella," she greets back.

"Okay, that's enough, now go!" Ripp says pushing Tank towards the kitchen.

Tank stops in his tracks and walks back over to them, "Hey Ripp, isn't it your turn to pick up Buck today?"

"Since when does Buck need to be walked home from the bus stop?" Ripp responds, his arms crossed.

"Don't you remember dad mentioning that yesterday?" Tank replies, "Now come on, the bus is almost here.

Ripp sighs, "Fine," he turns to Isabella, "I'll be right back."

Ripp walks out the front door, leaving Tank and Isabella alone. Tank turns to Isabella and smiles.

"So where are you from?" he asks.

"Magic Town."

"Oh, that sounds cool," Tank pauses, "I'm not a jerk in case Ripp told you that."

"I didn't think you were," Isabella responds; she smiles.

MEANWHILE AT THE BUS STOP:

Ripp is seen walking Buck home from the bus stop; he leads him to the front porch.

"Come on Buck," Ripp states, "There's someone that I want you to meet."

Ripp opens the front door and walks into the house hanging on to his brother's hand. Ripp steps into the living room; he then stops in his tracks, letting go of Buck.

Ripp stares at the horrible sight in front of him. There they were, his older brother and his potential crush talking and laughing on the couch. It wasn't strange to see Isabella like this, but Tank?

"_Since when does Tank act like a normal human being?" _Ripp thought to himself. Ripp glances over at Buck, looking to see if Buck was noticing Tank's abnormal actions; but Buck just shrugged it off and went to do his homework.

It seemed like hours until Ripp found the courage to speak, "What the heck is going on here?"

Isabella stands up startled and turns to Ripp, "Oh sorry Ripp, I was just talking to your brother. He seems like a really nice guy."

"Really?" Ripp glances from Isabella to Tank; he gives his older brother a glare.

"Look Ripp, I don't know why this is such a big deal," Tank states, getting up from off of the couch, "This is nothing out of the ordinary for me."

"Yeah, right," Ripp replies sarcastically, "Just ask anyone in the neighborhood about you, I'm sure they will agree."

Ripp sighs before turning to Isabella, "Come on, we should go." Ripp grabs Isabella by the arm before leading her out of the house.

"Where are you two going?" Tank calls after them.

"None of your business Tank," Ripp responds.

"Well he's dead," Tank says to himself.

MEANWHILE ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE:

Ripp is walking up a giant hill with Isabella following close behind. She turns to Ripp, "So, what did you want to show me?"

"This," Ripp stops in front of a giant crater; Isabella looks down at the pieces of the spaceship inside of it.

"Hey, what are those?" Isabella asks.

"Oh, those are just remnants of Johnny's father's spaceship," Ripp responds, "He crash landed here years ago."

"Wow that sure sounds exciting."

"Yeah, it was," Ripp pauses, "But to tell you the truth, I didn't really take you out here to show you the ship."

"You didn't?" Isabella asks, Ripp shakes his head no. "Then what did you bring me here to see?"

"Turn around Isabella," Ripp says.

Isabella turns around and looks at the beautiful view. "Wow, this is amazing," Isabella says in awe, "You can see everything in Strangetown." Isabella stops and points to the sign next to her, "Uhh…?"

"What?" Ripp turns around and glances at the sign. It says 'No trespassers, by the order of General Buzz Grunt' with a picture of his father below it. Ripp sighs before turning to Isabella, "When it comes to my father it's best not to ask."

"Oh," Isabella smiles, "Sounds like you come quite an interesting family."

"Believe me, you don't want to know," Ripp responds.

"Try me," Isabella responds, "You may be surprised."

Ripp smiles and gently grabs Isabella's hand. _"There's no way she knows what's like, is there?" _he thought to himself, _"I guess there's only one way to find out." _

Ripp sighs before turning back to her, "Isabella, I-"

"Hey Ripp!" Ophelia calls from her house below, "Are you guys coming over or not?"

"Sorry Ophelia!" Ripp shouts back, he turns to Isabella, "I guess we should probably get going."

Isabella nods, "Yeah, Ophelia's waiting for us."

Ripp and Isabella walk down from the hill and head over to Ophelia's house.

"_Darn it I blew my chance," _Ripp thinks to himself as he's towards the front porch,_ "Now I'll never know if she understands how I feel." _

"Ripp?" Isabella says gently shaking his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Ripp shakes his head, completely unaware of the fact that he was walking towards his mother's grave. He stops and glances down at it before turns to Isabella, "Yeah, I'm fine," he says, "It's just hard being a teenager, you know?"

Isabella nods, "Yes, I know."

Silence fills the graveyard, as Ripp kneels down in front of his mother's grave. Isabella goes over to Ripp and kneels down next to him. She glances at the headstone in front of Ripp and looks down at the ground in sorrow.

"I'm really sorry," Isabella says softly in realization, "Is this something you want to talk about?"

Normally Ripp would say no, he didn't want to talk to anyone to anything about what had happened to his mother, but a voice in his head wouldn't let it rest. _"Give it a chance Ripp," _the voice says,_ "She may be the only person in the whole world who cares about you."_

"Yes," Ripp replies, "I would like to tell you about it. But not now. Ophelia is waiting for us, we should go before she starts writing us hate letters."

Isabella gives a little smile and quietly laughs, "Okay, sounds like a plan."

Isabella helps Ripp up from off of ground and out of the graveyard. Ripp and Isabella walk over to the front door; Ripp knocks on it.

"So," Isabella speaks up, "Is there anything I should know about Ophelia?"

"Yeah," Ripp responds, "She's crazy." Isabella gives Ripp a look of concern; he laughs before continuing, "But don't worry, you'll love her."


	7. First Kiss

Chapter Seven

Ophelia opens the door smiling about a mile wide. "Well there you guys are!" she exclaims, "Johnny and I were wondering when you'd get here."

"Sorry we're late," Ripp responds entering through the door with Isabella close behind, "We lost track of time."

Ophelia smirks, "Ahh, I see. Showing her the spaceship huh?"

"Psh, well obviously," Ripp says, a smile spreading on his face.

Ophelia turns to Isabella, "Well come on, let me show you around."

Ophelia leads Isabella and Ripp into the living room, where Johnny is already seated on the couch. Ophelia turns to Isabella, "So, this is my house, what do you think?"

"It's great," Isabella replies glancing around the room; she looks out the window, "But why are so many gravestones in your yard?"

"Umm, my aunt has a lot of problems with her exes," Ophelia replies. She smiles nervously before placing herself in front of the window; she turns to Isabella, "So, why don't you tell us more about yourself Isabella? It seems like I only know your name."

"Uhh okay," Isabella responds before taking a seat next to Johnny, "Well I have two brothers, an older one named Brent and a younger one named Louie. I'm also romance sim."

"Really?" Johnny says, "Huh, I never would've guessed."

"Well, what kind of sim are you guys?" Isabella asks.

"I'm a popularity sim," Johnny replies, "I'm like Tank only more successful."

"Ooh burn," Ophelia says smiling, she turns to Isabella, "Well, I'm a family sim," Ophelia pauses, "I hate to be nosey but why is your family known as the 'eXtremes'?"

"It's because everyone in our family is maxed out in one personality trait," Isabella responds.

"Wow," Johnny responds, "Which one are you?"

"Playful," Isabella says, "I'm maxed out in it."

"Really?" Ophelia replies, "Because you sure don't seem like you're maxed out in playful."

"You got a bathtub?" Isabella asks.

"Yeah…"

FIVE SECONDS LATER:

Isabella is standing inside of the bathtub dancing and pretending to be a pirate. Ripp, Ophelia and Johnny are standing near the bathroom doorway watching her in shocked concern.

"Now that's just weird," Ripp says.

LATER THAT EVENING:

Ripp and Isabella are walking out the Specter's front gate, they wave to Ophelia.

"See you later Ophelia, thanks for inviting us over!" Ripp calls out to her.

"No problem, see you guys later!" Ophelia calls from her house, she shuts her bedroom window.

Ripp and Isabella make their way across the street; she turns to him and smiles. "That was really fun," she says, "Thanks."

"Yeah, well welcome to Strangetown," Ripp replies.

Isabella laughs and turns to him, "That sounds like the name of a horror movie."

"Well, that's my life for you," Ripp responds. He stops in his tracks, _"Stupid, stupid, why did you have to say that? Now she's going to think you're some sort of angsty teen! And who's to say you're not?"_

"Uhh, Ripp? Are you okay?"

"Umm, yeah." Ripp replies, "Just talking to myself."

Isabella smiles and laughs, "You too, huh?" She steps in front of a giant x, "Well, here's my house. I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah…" Ripp says, watching her walk towards the front door. "_Come on Ripp, she's leaving. Say something, say anything!"_

"Hey!" Ripp calls out, Isabella stops walking and turns to him, "Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow?"

"Sure," Isabella responds, "Sounds great."

Isabella walks over to Ripp and hugs him before walking into her house, he stands there in awe.

"Well, I never saw that coming," Ripp says to himself, before looking down at his watch, "Especially not at…twelve in the morning? Aww crap!"

Ripp races down the street and over to his house, he stops in front of the living room window.

"I can't take my chances; I'll have to climb through my bedroom window."

Ripp walks over to their only tree and climbs up it. He stops in front of the second-story window and peers inside. _"The coast is clear, now's my chance!"_ Ripp slowly opens up the window and steps inside.

He gently shuts the window and flops down on the bed in exhaustion. He sighs, "_Thank goodness that's over…" _Ripp thinks before falling asleep.

THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER:

Ripp is lying in bed half-asleep talking to himself, _"Mmm Isabella, of course I like you…"_ he hugs his pillow and rests his head up against it.

Ripp lifts his head up, now fully awake, "_Something doesn't seem right," _he thinks to himself. _"Oh well, it's probably nothing."_ And with that Ripp lies back down and rubs his head against his pillow.

"Wait a minute, that's not my-" Ripp looks down only to find himself hugging Tank, his head leaning against his sleeping brother's back; Ripp screams and let's go of him.

"Eww! Eww! Cooties! SAVE ME!" Ripp shouts, he covers his mouth and races out of the room. Tank wakes up and looks around the empty room, he shrugs before falling back asleep.

THE NEXT DAY:

Isabella is sitting at the kitchen table playing with her cereal; she sighs as Brent sits down next to her.

"Hey Izzy," Brent says, "Is something wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking," Isabella replies, lifting up her spoon.

"About what?"

"It's nothing important," Isabella states, not taking her eyes off of the bowl placed in front of her.

All of a sudden bangs are heard at the window.

"What the heck is that?" Brent asks, getting up out of his seat to take a look outside. "Hey Isabella, there's some chick throwing rocks at our window!"

"What?" Isabella asks, she jumps out of her seat and races over to the window. She laughs and turns to Brent, "That isn't a girl, it's Ripp!" Isabella pauses, "Ripp! "

Isabella grabs her coat and races towards the door, she turns to her brother, "Well I'd love to continue talking to you, but I gotta go-bye!"

Isabella runs out the door and slams it, leaving a very confused Brent behind. He smiles, "It's amazing how fast her mood changes when he's outside."

FIVE MINUTES LATER:

Ripp and Isabella are walking into the living room of the Grunt residence. Isabella turns to Ripp, "So, anything interesting happen in the last twelve hours?"

"Not really," Ripp responds, "Well, unless you count my father ranting eight hours straight about how he's better than Pollination Tech 9." Ripp turns to Isabella and grabs her arm, "Now come on, let's go upstairs before we run into-"

"Hello inferior son," General Buzz greets, walking into the room. He stops and glances at Isabella, "Who's your friend?"

"Uhh, Isabella. She's new here," Ripp responds uneasily.

"Well that explains why she's hanging around with you," General Buzz replies, he turns to Isabella, "You know my other son Tank is much more interesting than this kid. You should be hanging around with him instead."

"Uhh, yeah well we have to go!" Ripp replies before grabbing Isabella and leading her up the stairs. He leads her into the den before letting go of her hand. "Sorry about my dad," Ripp states, "I told you me was crazy."

"That's okay," Isabella responds, "He seems very…interesting."

Ripp smiles, still catching his breath, "Believe me, you have no idea."

Ripp goes over to the wall and turns on the light, only to find his little brother in front of the stereo, "Buck?" Ripp asks, "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry Ripp," Buck responds, "I was just uhh, uhh-"

"Hey!" Isabella goes over to the stereo and picks up one of the CDs, "Isn't this one of those smustle dancing CDs?"

Ripp turns to his younger brother in shock, "Buck, you've been trying to learn how to smustle?"

"Please don't tell dad," Buck responds softly, his hands folded.

"Alright," Ripp replies, "You know I won't."

"Hey, if you really want to learn how to dance, I can teach you," Isabella responds turning to Buck.

"Really?"

"Sure!" Isabella smiles and walks over to Buck. She grabs both of his hands, "Now, get on my feet." Buck does, soon they are moving from side to side, "Here, now try it for yourself!"

Buck lets go of Isabella and begins to move around, he smiles and turns to Ripp, "Look Ripp, I'm dancing! I'm dancing!"

Ripp smiles and laughs, "You look great Buck."

"Now don't think you're getting off easy!" Isabella says before grabbing Ripp by the arm and placing her arms around him.

"Hey!" Ripp says, taken off-guard. He turns crimson when he finds Isabella only a few inches away from him. "So uhh, where did you learn to dance like this?" Ripp asks; sweat forming on his nervous forehead.

"Oh you know, my grandma taught me," Isabella says, she pauses, "You know, you're really good at this."

"I am?" Ripp asks, surprised that he could be good at anything, let alone dancing.

"Yeah," Isabella states softly, "I bet you're way better than Tank."

"_Wait, what? Did she just say I was better than Tank at something? Take that dad!" _Ripp thought to himself, a smile spreading throughout his face."Wow," Ripp replies, "No one's ever told me that before."

Isabella smiles, "Yeah well, no one's ever been this nice to me before," she speaks softly, _"Or made me feel this way,"_ she adds to herself.

"Izzy?" Ripp says looking into her eyes. They both stop dancing and lean towards each other. And that's when the impossible happened. Ripp did something first. He kissed her, he kissed Isabella eXtreme. The girl that had changed everything and had made his life tolerable. He had done it. He had his first kiss before his older brother.

"_Oh man, this cannot be happening. There is no way that this is happening. Come on, get a hold of yourself Ripp, you know this is just some sort of dream and you're going to wake up tomorrow with everything being exactly the same as before," _Ripp thinks to himself.

But the weird thing was; it wasn't. For the first time in his life, Ripp had done something before his brother. Now he was on top of the world, and that's exactly the way he wanted things to stay.


	8. Downfall

Chapter Eight

Ripp and Isabella are walking towards the eXtreme residence holding hands. Ripp stops in front of the house and turns to Isabella, blushing.

"Well, I guess this is it," he says, trying to hide his face.

"Yeah," Isabella replies, "Thanks for walking me back and you know, for having me over your house. It was fun."

An awkward silence occurs, causing Ripp's mind to race, "_Crap, an awkward silence. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say? Whatever you do Ripp, don't follow the advice of your father."_

General Buzz appears in Ripp's thought bubble as he reminisces, _"Whenever there's an awkward silence, it's time to punch somebody in the face. Remember that son and someday you'll be almost as successful as me."_ The bubble pops, Ripp shivers.

"Ripp?" Isabella speaks, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Ripp replies, "I was just-never mind."

Isabella smiles softly, "Something tells me it was something having to do with your dad."

"How did you know?" Ripp asks.

"I could tell by the expression on your face," Isabella quietly laughs before turning back to Ripp. "So, I should probably be going before my family wonders where I am. See you later Ripp."

Isabella walks over to Ripp and kisses him before entering her house; she turns back and waves to him through the window, her face turning red.

Ripp continues to stand on the lawn in shock, a funny look spreading across his face. "Bye," he softly states forcing his hand up and frantically waving back, before fainting on the ground.

MEANWHILE: IN THE HOUSE

Isabella turns away from the window and begins to dance around the house; she accidentally knocks into her dad, who is standing in the middle of the kitchen, his arms crossed.

"Oh hey dad," Isabella says.

"Hello Isabella," Alban responds, "You're back late. Now tell me, what's all this talk I hear about you and this Ripp Grunt fellow?"

"Uhh," Isabella stalls, her eyes never leaving the floor, "What talk?"

"Nothing, just that you've been spending a lot of time with this boy lately, and that he is, a Romance sim."

"Well I am too!" Isabella defends, "Besides, what difference does it make if he's a Romance sim?"

"Izzy, Romance sims are only interested in one thing-having multiple lovers. That boy is going to break your heart."

"Ripp would never do that, he's not like that."

"Oh, so he's a rebel?"

"Well that's only because his family's crazy!" Isabella bursts out, causing Alban to raise an eyebrow. Isabella sighs before continuing, "Look, just give me one chance, I'll prove to you that he's not a typical Romance sim."

Alban looks down at the floor and contemplates, he sighs, "Alright, one chance-"

Isabella's face lights up in a smile, "Thanks dad!"

"-but if he is than you can never see him again…"

MEANWHILE: AT THE GRUNT RESIDENCE

Ripp skips up the front steps and bursts through the front door smiling wide. He dances into the living room and collides with a lamp, causing General Buzz and Tank to race down the stairs. Ripp collapses on the couch and begins to giggle.

"Where the heck were you boy?" General states, "Buck was getting worried. You almost missed obstacle course practice."

"Hehe," Ripp laughs while looking up at the ceiling, "Hi daddy."

General Buzz and Tank exchange weird looks before Buzz walks over to him, "Enough small talk boy, it's time for you to-"

"Run the course?" Ripp completes jumping out of the seat, "YES!"

General Buzz turns to Tank after watching Ripp race out the door, "Something is seriously wrong with that boy." Tank nods.

FIFTEEN SECONDS LATER

Tank and Ripp are standing side-by-side in front of the obstacle course, General Buzz turns to them.

"Now when I say 'go' I want each of you to run through the-"

"Uhh, dad?" Tank interrupts pointing.

"What?" General Buzz asks, looking to see what Tank is pointing at. His eyes widen in shock as he watches Ripp running through the obstacle course perfectly in record time. General Buzz walks over to Ripp and stops him before he can make another lap, "Alright son," he states, "What's up with you? Are you on drugs?"

Ripp giggles, "Oh dad, I love you!"

Ripp tightly hugs his father, startling and disgusting him. General Buzz pushes Ripp off of him and onto the ground. Ripp laughs on the ground hysterically causing General Buzz and Tank to look down at him in confusion.

"Yep, something's wrong with him."

THE NEXT DAY

Ripp puts down his backpack after school and heads toward the front door. He turns to Tank, "Well, see you later."

"Where are you going?" Tank asks, getting up from off of the couch and walking over to Ripp.

"I told you this already! Isabella wants to come over her house today."

"Isabella?" Tank repeats, "You mean that red-haired girl that you brought home from school that one time."

"Yeah," Ripp responds suspiciously, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Tank quickly replies, looking down at the ground.

"Well, yeah I guess I'll be going now-"

"Wait!" Tank speaks out stopping Ripp at the door, "Can I go with you?"

"_Tank wants to go with me somewhere? What is up with that? Oh well, I guess I can't say no. After all, he'd probably beat me up," _Ripp ponders before responding, "Sure."

FIVE MINUTES LATER

Ripp and Tank are walking on the sidewalk; they stop in front of the eXtreme residence. Ripp turns to him, "Well, this is it," he responds.

"Great," Tank replies, nodding in satisfaction, "I guess we should ring the doorbell-"

"Wait!" Ripp stops him, "I have a better idea."

MEANWHILE: INSIDE THE HOUSE

Isabella is standing in her living room talking to her unreasonable father. "Come on dad, just give him a chance, he'll be here any minute!"

"And when will that be?" Alban responds firmly.

"Uhh…" Isabella shudders.

All of a sudden knocks are heard at the window followed by a loud, "ISABELLA!" Alban storms over to the source of the noise and swings open the window, finding Ripp with a pile of rocks in his left hand.

"Hey you," Alban confronts, "Stay away from my daughter!"

"Dad!" Isabella calls out racing over the door, letting them in. "Be nice."

"So," Alban states walking over to the two boys who are standing in the living room, he turns to Tank placing his hand on his shoulder, "You must be Ripp."

"Uhh, no," Ripp replies from behind Tank, "I'm Ripp." He lifts his right hand up and nervously smiles.

Alban glares at him, "Of course," he responds, "It had to be the rock throwing boy."

Isabella nervously laughs and steps between her father and Ripp, unaware of Tank's sudden absence, "So dad, what do you think?"

Alban stares at him blankly before facing his daughter, "He looks like a girl."

"Hey!" Ripp responds offended.

"Now hold on," Isabella replies, softly placing her hand on Ripp's shoulder, "Maybe we can talk about this."

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER

Ripp, Isabella and her father are sitting at the kitchen table talking. Alban's face softens, "Maybe I was wrong about you son, you seem fairly normal." Isabella smiles from across the table, "But you didn't mention anything about your family, what are they like?"

"_What are they like? Terrible! Monsterous! The family from down under! That's what they're like!" _Ripp's mind chimes, he smiles and turns to Alban, "Oh, you know, they're very civilized and pleasant to be around-"

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU MEATHEAD!"

"What the-?" Alban responds, getting up from the table. All three of them race over to the family room and over to the source of the sounds. To Ripp's horror his brother is in a fist fight with Brent.

"Tank! What are you doing?" Ripp says in panic, "Stop it!"

Brent kicks Tank on the floor; Tank rubs his arm in pain before storming over to his brother. He points at Brent, "He started it!" Tank defends, "He was making fun of my camo!"

"Not again with the camo," Ripp groans before turning to the eXtremes, "I'm really sorry about my brother's behavior," Ripp responds, "This won't happen again."

"You're darn right it won't happen again," Alban replies storming over to them, "Because you're never allowed to see my daughter again-EVER!"


	9. The Plan

Chapter Nine

Ripp and Tank are standing in front of the eXtreme residence facing the street, the door slams behind them. Tank turns to Ripp, a smile spread across his face, "Well that went better than expected."

Ripp gives Tank a glare before walking towards the sidewalk, "Hey, wait up!" Tank calls after him. Ripp stops abruptly and turns around to confront him; his face stern.

"Face camo? You got into a brawl over face camo?" Ripp throws his hands down, frustrated, "Why is it every time I try to do something nice for you, you ruin my life?"

"Oh come on, I don't ruin your life," Tank responds, causing Ripp to turn around and glare at him again, "Well, not all the time."

An awkward silence occurs as Ripp and Tank continue walk down the street. Tank sighs and turns to his brother, "So, do you think I impressed her?"

Ripp gives Tank a look of confusion, "Impressed who?" he asks.

"You know," Tank responds, "Isabella."

Ripp stops walking and turns to face his brother, his heart starts to pound, "Wait, why are you trying to impress Isabella?" Ripp asks, afraid of his brother's response.

"Cause she's cute," Tank replies.

Ripp stops walking, his mind racing a mile a minute. _"Wait, Tank's thinks she's cute? Well, she is isn't she? I mean just because he thinks she's cute doesn't mean that he has a crush on her right? Right? I mean, he does know that Isabella's my girlfriend…or maybe I failed to mention that. Better tell him now," _Ripp thinks to himself, sweat forming on his forehead as he turns to his older brother, "Uhh, Tank? Isabella's my girlfriend."

Tank stops walking and turns to Ripp smirking, "Not anymore," he responds before heading down the street; Ripp stops walking and stands on the sidewalk in silence, unable to take this all in.

"_Don't question it Ripp, don't question it," he tells himself, "Just let this go, he's only trying to get you upset, he doesn't really mean it. Tank's one-sided, there's nothing else to him, you know that. So just ignore him, let it slide..." _Ripp looks down at the ground and sighs, before lifting his head up towards the sky, "No," he says out loud, "Not this time."

Ripp turns around and races towards his brother; unable to catch up, he stops in the middle of the sidewalk and calls out to him, "WHY DO YOU ALWAYS TRY TO RUIN MY LIFE TANK? WHAT POSSIBLE REASON DO YOU HAVE THAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DO THIS? ARE YOU JEALOUS OF ME? WHY? YOU'RE OLDER THAN ME, YOU'RE FASTER THAN ME, YOU GET BETTER GRADES THAN I DO! YOU'RE BETTER AT ME IN EVERYTHING! DAD LIKES YOU BETTER! YOU CAN'T SERIOUSLY BE JEALOUS OF ME!"

Tank stops walking and turns around to face him. Tank races over to Ripp and stands right in front of him, starring straight into his eyes, "Why would I be jealous of you?" Tank asks, his smile fading to a frown, "You can be anything you want, I have to be what dad wants."

Ripp freezes in shock of Tank's sudden outburst; Ripp turns around only to find his brother only a few feet ahead of him. Ripp sighs and calls out to him, "You miss her don't you? You miss mom," Ripp says, trying to keep his voice from shaking, "Well guess what? Me too," Ripp sighs, "I miss her too."

Tank turns around and face his brother, "Leave me alone Ripp," he responds before storming down the Road to Nowhere to their house.

Ripp stands in silence; watching him walk away, "_Hmm, maybe I was wrong about Tank. Maybe he's not so one-sided after all."_

THE NEXT DAY

Ripp is sitting behind the cash register in the gas station convenience store wearing his hot dog uniform. A bell sounds as Johnny walks through the door and joins him at the other side of the counter.

"Hey Ripp, what's up?" Johnny asks, glancing around at the shelves behind Ripp.

"Nothing," Ripp replies, "It's been a pretty slow day. I've only seen you five times since four o'clock. And you've only eaten what, half of the merchandise on the shelves?"

"Haha, very funny," Johnny responds sarcastically, "Hey, isn't that Isabella?" Johnny asks, pointing to a red-haired girl standing in front of the greeting cards; her back turned. Ripp's face lights up when he says her name, "Why don't you say hi to her?" Johnny suggests.

"I don't know, I'm not really allowed to leave my post…" Ripp begins, still gazing at the girl in the distance.

"I'll cover for you," Johnny responds.

"Great!" Ripp replies taking off his hat and apron and thrusting them into Johnny's arms, "I'll be right back."

Ripp walks over to the girl and taps on her shoulder, "Hey baby," Ripp says, "Did you miss me?" The girl turns around; revealing her chubby-cheeked face and crooked eyebrows, "Whoa!" Ripp steps back in disgust, "You're not Isabella!"

Ripp turns around only to find Johnny laughing at the counter. Ripp storms over to him, "That was _not _Isabella," he states, fuming.

"But you thought it was," Johnny responds, trying to control his laughter; he wipes his tear-filled eyes, "You should've seen the look on your face," Johnny says, bursting into more laughter.

"Yeah, that's real funny," Ripp replies, his face stern, "You want to do anything else to ruin my life? Why don't you just set my room on fire while you're at it?"

"Geez Ripp, it was just a joke. No need to freak out," Johnny says, drying his eyes a final time.

"Perfect thing to joke about," Ripp says softly, looking down at the floor. He sighs and clenches his fists, turning to Johnny, "Now get out of my store!"

"Fine, Mr. Moody," Johnny responds angrily, storming out the door; leaving Ripp once again, alone.

"_It figures,"_ Ripp thinks to himself, _"Maybe this is just how it's supposed to be." _

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER

Ripp is sitting behind the cash register in the gas station convenience store once again wearing his hot dog uniform. He sighs and looks at the magazine rack for something to occupy his boredom. He grabs the nearest magazine and begins to look through it.

"Ooh, Pleasantview," Ripp turns the page, "Wow those Caliente sisters sure can scheme."

"Ripp?"

"Huh?" Ripp looks up from the magazine, only to find Ophelia standing right in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I'm continuing on with my life, what does it look like?" Ripp snaps.

"Well, it looks like you're just wasting your life," Ophelia responds; her arms crossed, "You know, I haven't seen Isabella with you in a while, is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine Ophelia and I don't need you butting into my business."

Ophelia backs away from Ripp; putting her hands up in defense, "Look, I heard what happened; I just wanted to know if you were doing alright."

Ripp glares at Ophelia, "I'm fine Ophelia; it's no big deal. Isabella was just another girl okay?"

"You honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, because it's the truth," Ripp fires back, "She was just a strange girl who happened to move into our neighborhood, that's all."

"Maybe to everyone else; but not to you," Ophelia takes a step closer to Ripp, "Think about it Ripp, before she moved in you were depressed 24/7, you completely gave up on everything. All of a sudden Isabella comes along and you're on top of the world."

"I think that's just your imagination, she was just another girl, I can forget her," Ripp states heading towards the back room behind the counter.

"Forget her? How could you forget her? You need her Ripp."

"I don't need anyone Ophelia."

"Really? So you don't need your mother?"

Ripp stops in his tracks and turns around. He faces Ophelia.

"What does this have to do with my mother?"

"It has everything to do with your mother; you were never as close to anyone in all of Strangetown as you were to her…that is, until Isabella came along."

"That's insane, how many times do I have to tell you that Isabella eXtreme was just another girl? This has nothing to do with mother!" Ripp sighs before looking to the floor, "Besides, why would I need Isabella? Why would she make such a big impact in my life?"

"Maybe it's because she was like you, a misunderstood teen who didn't really fit into the world," Ophelia pauses, "Or maybe it's because Isabella was the only person since your mother that made you feel like you mattered; she was the only one who believed in you. With her, you could do the impossible and you know it."

Ripp sighs before slowly looking back up at Ophelia, "You're right. I do need her. But I can't just break the rules!"

"Why not? You break the rules all the time."

"Yeah, but those are my dad's rules, they're kind of stupid," Ripp smiles a little before continuing, "But I can't make Isabella break her father's rules. I don't want to get her in trouble."

"Well, that can be prevented," Ophelia replies, smiling.

An expression of confusion forms on Ripp's face, "What are you talking about Ophelia?"

"Ripp, have you ever heard the story of Romeo and Juliet?"

"Uhh, which one: the play written by Shakespeare or the crappy one in Veronaville?"

"Either of them."

"Oh," Ripp answers, "In that case no."

Ophelia sighs, placing her hand to her face in frustration, "Well if you did bother to read them, then you would know how the two forbidden lovers saw each other."

"How'd they do that?"

"It's simple; they snuck out at night and waited for one another in the garden."

"Ahh," Ripp replies, "But what does that have to do with our problem?"

"Ripp, it's the same thing, don't you get it?" Ophelia asks.

"Oh, I get it. So you want Isabella and me to plant a garden in Veronaville so Romeo and Juliet can see each other?"

"Uhh, close," Ophelia responds.

Ripp ponders again, "Oh, so you want Isabella and me to plant a garden in Strangetown?"

Ophelia sighs and grabs Ripp by the arm. "Just come on!"

Ophelia drags Ripp out of the store and into the night.


	10. Lyla's Story

Lyla Grunt is one of my favorite characters in the Sims 2, so of course I had to have a chapter dedicated to her life. I couldn't fit all of the major events of her life that I wanted to in this chapter, so I am going to continue it in chapter eleven as well. I hope you enjoy this. Please R&R if you can. :)

* * *

Chapter Ten: _Lyla's Story_

Ripp is standing in front of the eXtreme residence, looking up at the white-painted bricks that constructed the giant X. A few days ago, he wouldn't have to think twice about stepping on the property, but his shaking legs and the coldness of the summer wind reminded him otherwise.

Ripp scans the area for a moment before picking up a few rocks from the dirt. He sighs, "Here goes nothing," he says to himself as walks over to the nearest window. He grabs a few rocks from his trembling hands and chucks them softly at the window-after all he didn't want to wake up the whole house, just one person in particular. "Isabella!" Ripp whispers loudly between swings, "Isabella eXtreme!"

He waits for a few minutes before turning back towards the street, Ripp sighs, "I guess she's not coming," he responds in disappointment. He starts to walk away but is interrupted by the sound of the window opening. He turns around and sure enough, there she was, her hand resting on the side of the windowsill smiling about a mile wide.

"Ripp!" Isabella softly exclaims, "What are you doing here? You know we're not allowed to see each other."

"I know, I just couldn't stop thinking about you," Ripp states looking down at the ground trying to hide the blush that is creeping up his face. Ripp takes a deep breath before turning back towards the window, "Come on, I really want to show you something."

"Leave the house?" Isabella asks, her voice expressing her uncertainty, "I don't know, I'm really not supposed to sneak out of the house at two in the morning," she softly smiles, seeing the puppy-dog face that Ripp is giving her, "But I guess I could make an exception."

"Great!" Ripp exclaims trying to keep his voice down, he walks over to the window and reaches out his arms, "Come on, I'll help you down."

"Okay," Isabella responds pulling herself up on the windowsill, she positions her feet towards the sand before turning to Ripp once more, "You ready?" she asks, implying her escape.

"Yeah," Ripp answers, he arms only a few feet below her.

Isabella quickly jumps out of the window and into his arms, the force of her jump causing Ripp to lose balance and fall to the ground. They both sit up and turn to one another rubbing their injured arms; Isabella giggles, "Maybe we should've planned that better."

Ripp, already standing up, grabs Isabella by the hand, "Come on, let's get out of here before we wake someone up."

A Few Minutes Later:

Ripp and Isabella are sitting on the top of the crater in the center of Strangetown, looking out at the view of the town. "Wow," Isabella responds, still in awe at the sights, "You were right, you really can see everything in Strangetown."

"Yeah," Ripp responds inching a little closer to Isabella, "It's really pretty." Isabella nods continuing to gaze out at the scenery, Ripp sighs and begins to play with his hands. "Uh, Isabella?"

Isabella stops and turns her attention to him, "Yes?"

Ripp moves towards Isabella and gently places his lips onto hers; Isabella sighs and slowly closes her eyes, trying to take in the moment. After a while, they reluctantly move apart, filling their lungs with air. Ripp puts his arm around Isabella before leaning back towards her. Isabella gently nudges his head to the left with her own making his right ear face her, she laughs, "We don't have to do this the whole night," she softly whispers in his ear, "We can do other things besides kiss you know."

Ripp smiles, "I know, I'm sorry," he says, his eyes gazing into hers, "It's just been so long since I've seen you."

Isabella softly laughs, "Ripp, it's only been a week!" she states, having a hard time keeping her voice down.

"That was a week?" Ripp responds, dumbfounded, "It felt like a year!"

Isabella's smile grows as she pulls Ripp closer to him, resting her face to his chest. She sighs, listening to the whisper of the summer breeze surrounding them, before gently closing her eyes. "Mmm…Ripp?" she softly speaks, her head still resting again his chest.

"Yeah?" Ripp responds, feeling Isabella shift from her position and sit up to face him; she looks over at him, the gray irises in her eyes looking as though they were about to outshine the sun.

"I love you."

Ripp moves his left hand back, not expecting to hear those words. _"She loves me? Isabella loves me?" _Ripp's mind asks going a mile a minute,_ "She couldn't possibly love me. I'm stupid, I'm worthless, I can't do anything right. She should know never to say those words to someone like me. There's only one person that ever loved me and that was…" _Ripp stops, his mind filling up with images of his blonde haired, brown eyed, elegantly dressed mother. "…Mom."

Isabella, seeing the uneasiness in Ripp's face turns to him, her face filled with genuine concern, "Ripp, are you alright?" she asks.

"Yeah," Ripp responds slowly turning to her, trying to stead himself; he sighs, "Isabella, I have to tell you something."

Isabella scouts closer to Ripp and gazes at him intently, "Yes?"

Ripp moves his eyes to the ground, having a hard time making eye contact with her, _"Come on Ripp," _his conscience speaks, _"Tell Isabella about her, she has a right to know. You can't keep this inside of you forever, I'm sure she'll understand. You can tell her anything." _

Ripp sighs and turns to Isabella, "I uh, I love you too."

"Oh Ripp!" Isabella squeaks out before throwing her arms around him; a small smile grows on Ripp's face as he wraps his arms around Isabella, hugging her back.

"_Oh well," _he says to himself satisfied, _"Close enough."_

The Next Day:

Ripp and Isabella are seen lying down on the hilltop looking up at the stars after sneaking out at two in the morning a second time. Isabella sighs, embracing the summer night before turning to Ripp, "Ripp, I've been thinking," she starts.

"About what?" Ripp asks, sitting up to face his girlfriend.

"Remember that one time we went to Ophelia's and saw Olive's garden?" Isabella asks, her eyes filling with wonder.

"Yeah," Ripp answers uneasily, unaware of where this conversation was going.

"Ever since that happened I can't stop thinking about all of those people buried there. I know they're no longer with us, but they seem so interesting. Imagine how many memories they have and all the stories they would tell if they were still here."

Ripp sighs, his eyes catching the garden in the distance, "Yeah," Ripp replies, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach as his eyes come to his mother's grave, "You know Ophelia's parents are buried in the garden."

"Really?" Isabella responds, "I didn't know Ophelia was an orphan."

"Yeah," Ripp states, still looking out at the garden; "Olive is actually her aunt on her mother's side of the family."

"Wow," Isabella replies. Silence fills the Road to Nowhere. Isabella stops looking at the garden for a moment and gazes at Ripp, "Ripp?"

"Yeah?" Ripp replies, not taking his eyes off of the garden.

Isabella sighs, carefully planning out her words in her head, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure Isabella," Ripp responds, now taking his eyes off of the garden and looking straight into hers.

"What happened to your mother?"

Ripp's stomach drops, his heart feeling as if it has stopped dead in its tracks. His eyes drop quickly to the ground, as Ripp struggles to fight off the bad memories filling in his head; he turns to Isabella, trying to push out a response, his world spinning rapidly around him, "My mother died a few years ago."

Isabella gazes at Ripp, sensing the sadness in his voice. She puts a comforting hand on his shoulder before responding, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Ripp replies, feeling something change in his heart, "I'm sorry too," he says, before lifting his head up to look at the stars, "Because she was a great person, and she had a great story to tell."

Isabella gives Ripp a small smile, "I'm sure she did."

"Yeah she did," Ripp responds turning towards Isabella his eyes shining, "Do you want to hear it?"

Isabella smiles, her face lighting up as she looks back at him, "I would love to."

Ripp turns to Isabella, his conscience feeling lighter by the minute, "Well, I don't remember a whole lot about her childhood, so I guess I'll start with the day she first met my dad, and quite a day that was if I do say so myself…"

_A girl dressed in a light pink short-sleeved t-shirt and white Capri pants is sitting at her desk in front of the classroom, struggling to keep her brown eyes open and on the math written on the blackboard. She sighs as her teacher walks across the room to write more problems on the board; the girl begins to fiddle around with her mid-length blonde hair._

"_Pst Lyla!" one of the girls seated to the left of her calls out, Lyla turns to her, eyeing the teacher now at the back of the room._

"_What?" Lyla softly responds to her friend, Elizabeth. Elizabeth scans the area before handing a note to her. Lyla is about to take it when someone else's hand grabs a hold of it._

"_Ms. Vandermorgan," her teacher responds, holding the note up to her face, "You know there is no note passing in my class." _

"_Yes, but-"_

"_No buts, you know the rules Lyla. Now, I have no choice but to read this aloud to the class," the teacher opens up the note and reads it aloud, her face frowning, "'Hey baby, how about you and I go out sometime so I can show you my amazing quads?"_

_The class erupts in laughter as Lyla turns to Elizabeth, her face crouched down in embarrassment. Elizabeth turns to Lyla and points to brown-haired boy dressed in green behind her. The boy winks at Lyla, giving her a flirty nod. Lyla groans before placing her head face down on her desk._

"_This is not happening," Lyla says to herself._

Ripp smiles and turns to Isabella, who is listening intently to the story. Ripp smiles a little, before looking back up at the stars and continuing, "Now my mom made it very clear that she wasn't interested, but my dad was never one to take no for an answer…"

_Lyla is standing nearby the large oak tree outside of the school talking with her two friends, Elizabeth and Theresa; Elizabeth groans when she sees someone approaching them. _

"_Watch out Lyla, here comes the military nut," Elizabeth says to her friend, as Buzz walks over to Lyla, completely ignoring the other two._

"_Hey Lyla," Buzz responds, looking her straight in the eyes and putting his arm around her, "I just beat up all three of the Curious brothers and Loki Beaker. Am I manly enough to be your boyfriend now?"_

"_Uh, Buzz?" Lyla says, beginning to feel uncomfortable, "As interesting as you are, I'm not really interested in being your girlfriend. I thought you would get the hint by now."_

"_Haha, oh Lyla, we all know that you secretly love me," Buzz says, squeezing her tighter, "I mean, what's not to love? But seeing that you've been too afraid to admit it, how about you go out with me this weekend?"_

"_Uh…" Lyla stalls, glancing at her two friends. They quickly shake their heads 'no' and frantically move their arms in disapproval. Lyla turns to Buzz who is smiling huge; she sighs, "Alright."_

_Elizabeth and Theresa turn to Lyla and mouth 'what?'_

_Lyla shrugs and turns to them, "What's going to happen?" she says._

Ripp stops talking and softly laughs, "Little did she know what that would lead to…a strange marriage and a bunch of crazy kids. Now the first few years of my parent's marriage actually went pretty well, mom used to tell me about how happy my dad was the day Tank was born…"

_Lyla is seen lying down on a hospital bed in exhaustion, her body positioned towards the white crib in the middle of the room. Lyla smiles as Buzz picks up the tiny blue-eyed baby and picks him up to his face._

"_Aww, look how cute he is Lyla! He looks just like me! See?" Buzz turns Tank towards Lyla, positioning his face next to his own, Lyla giggles._

"_Yes, he does," she responds._

"_Oh he's going to be great," Buzz continues, turning Tank to face him, "He's going to be the best General the world has ever seen!"_

_Lyla sighs, "Sweetheart, he's just a baby."_

"_I know Lyla," Buzz responds turning towards her still holding Tank in his arms, "But someday he's going to become a general and make me proud."_

"From that day on Tank became the apple of dad's eye. Tank was the world to him, so it was no surprise that when my dad found out that my mom was pregnant again, he was excited," Ripp says, he turns to Isabella smirking, "Little did he know that this baby wouldn't be anything like the last one…"

_Lyla is lying in the hospital baby holding baby Ripp in her arms, she turns to Buzz smiling, "Look at him Buzz, he's so adorable."_

_Buzz walks over to Lyla and kneels down next to her, "Yeah, he is," he stands and picks the baby up, "Come to daddy boy!"_

"_Uh honey-" Lyla begins, but it was too late, in a few minutes Buzz is covered in vomit._

"_Eww," Buzz responds, holding the baby out as if it were infected with lice, "Here, take him back."_

_Lyla smiles and takes Ripp from his arms; Ripp laughs, causing Buzz to turn to Lyla._

"_Hey! He did that on purpose!" Buzz responds, "That little-_

"_Buzz, calm down," Lyla replies, "There's no way he did that on purpose."_

_Buzz crossed his arms and glares at the baby, "I guess so."_

"So, did you do it on purpose?" Isabella asks as soon as Ripp ceased talking.

"Huh?" Ripp asks, his mind still racing through the memories of his mother, "Oh, the whole throwing-up on my dad thing? Yeah, I guess you could say so."

Ripp looks up at the night sky before turning to Isabella, "Well, I think that's enough for one night. I should probably get you home."

"So soon?" Isabella replies, "I was really hoping that I could hear the rest of it. You know, the rest of Lyla's story."

Ripp smiles and softly laughs, "I'll tell you the rest of it tomorrow, I promise."

"Good," Isabella responds, "As long as you promise me one more thing."

"What?" Ripp asks, turning his full attention towards the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"You'll tell it to me in the garden with her," Isabella proposes, her eyes trying to hold back tears.

Ripp sighs and looks down at the ground, a real smile forming on his face for the first time in years, "I wouldn't have it any other way."


	11. Final Days

Chapter Eleven

The breeze was soft and gentle that early morning, but all Isabella could think about was how she was going to avoid getting caught by her father. Sure, sneaking out with Ripp had been worth it, but if even one person found out about her actions, they would both be in trouble and she would most likely never see her boyfriend again. _"I guess no relationship that's worth it can be easy,"_ Isabella thinks to herself, as they approach the familiar wall of white bricks that constructed her house.

Isabella stops walking and turns to Ripp, "Well, thanks for walking me home," she says, allowing the breeze to gently move her hair, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Ripp's face falls as Isabella let's go of his hand and begins to walk towards her back window. "I hope," Ripp says softly to himself, causing Isabella to turn around in confusion. Ripp smiles, after seeing a slight look of panic on her face and adds, "I mean, of course I'll see you tomorrow."

A small smile manages to creep onto Isabella's face as she quietly enters through the back window. Upon stepping inside the house, she mouths a soft "Goodbye" to Ripp, before gently shutting the door.

Isabella breathes a sigh of relief as she watches Ripp turn around and race home. "Well at least that's over," Isabella whispers, heading towards the kitchen, "For a second there, I thought that we were going to get-"

"Where were you Isabella?" a voice speaks out from the darkness. Isabella turns on the light, unable to react in her overwhelming panic, only to come face-to-face with her older brother Brent.

"Brent?" Isabella manages to squeak out after what seemed like hours of never-ending panic, "What are you doing up?"

Brent gets up from off of one of the pink kitchen chairs and walks over to his sister, keeping steady eye-contact with her, "I got up a few hours ago when I heard one of our windows open. For a second I thought maybe it was Gramma trying to air out the place, but then I noticed that you were no one to be seen. So again I ask you, where were you Isabella?"

Isabella looks down at the blue-tiled floor in panic and begins to shuffle her feet. She knew she could never lie to Brent, she was a terrible liar and he would catch her before she even opened up her mouth to speak. But she wasn't sure if she could trust Brent with the truth, Brent didn't know the first thing about love, there was no way that he could possibly understand why his little sister had to break the rules and see her boyfriend at three in the morning.

Isabella sighs and opens her mouth to speak, but is surprisingly interrupted by her older brother, "It's okay," he says, "I know you were with him."

"You do?" Isabella softly states, unable to look her brother in the eye.

"Yeah," Brent says, "It was kind of obvious."

There was silence in the room before Isabella dared to speak, "Please don't tell dad," she boldly states, a pleading look shining through her eyes.

Brent sighs and looks at his little sister in condolence, "Don't worry, I won't." The look of grief on Isabella's face diminishes, "Just promise me one thing."

"What?" Isabella asks, looking somewhat relieved at her brother's actions.

"Don't ever fall in love with Tank," Brent says smiling, "He's a jerk."

Isabella softly laughs and turns to her brother, "Don't worry," she responds, "I won't. I promise."

THE NEXT NIGHT

Ripp and Isabella are walking towards Olive Specter's garden looking for a place to sit. Ripp, walking in front of Isabella, attempting to guide her through the garden, turns towards her, "So, your brother was okay with it?" he asks, reaching his hand out for her.

Isabella smiles, keeping her eyes on the grass, hoping to avoid stepping on any gravestones, "Yeah," she responds, "But I'm not surprised. After all, he's a sucker for romance."

Ripp softly laughs before grabbing Isabella by the hand. He stops her in front of a gravestone near the front of the garden. "Well, this is it," he says.

Isabella stops walking and leans over to get a look at the named engraved on the stone. Sure enough, at the very top was the name Lyla Grunt. Ripp sighs and turns to Isabella after spending a few moments in silence, "You got the flowers?"

Isabella nods and pulls out some rainbow-colored flowers from her coat pocket and hands them to Ripp. Ripp kneels down in front of his mother's grave and puts the flowers on top of it, before tossing the old dead flowers from his previous trip in the trash.

After a few minutes of cleaning up the area around her grave, Ripp and Isabella take a seat next to Lyla's grave, facing each other. No words are spoken for quite some time.

"I'd like to believe that my mother was happier when she was alive," Ripp speaks suddenly, out-of-the-blue, "But I don't think that's true." Ripp stops talking to gaze at Isabella; a look of sadness is on her face, causing Ripp to continue his thought, "But it wasn't always like that. I mean, she was pretty happy for the first twenty-five years of her life. It's hard to say exactly when it all fell apart, but I can tell you where the trouble started…"

_A much younger Buzz is sitting at the kitchen table flipping through the want ads in the newspaper. He stops and puts down his newspaper when he sees Lyla approaching the table._

"_Hey Lyla!" he calls out, "Check this out! They have a job open in the Military career, do you think I should take it?"_

_Lyla puts down her cup of coffee and sits down at the table across from him, "I don't know, aren't those jobs kind of demanding?"_

"_Demanding? No way!" Buzz answers, "This job will be a piece of cake! Besides, it pays really well."_

_Lyla sighs, "Buzz look at me," she says pushing the newspaper down on the table so that he can make eye contact with her, "I don't want this job taking over your life."_

_Buzz smiles and softly laughs, "Lyla, that's never going to happen. You're always going to be my first priority, I promise. Come on, just give this a chance."_

_Lyla looks down at the ad in the newspaper and sighs before looking back up at Buzz, "Okay."_

Ripp is staring at the ground, continuing to tell the story, "But like always, my mother was right, in no time at all that job completely took over my father's life. By the time I was born he lived and breathed military and he wanted all of us to do the same…"

"_Oww stop it!" a child Ripp shouts, his older brother clutching him in a headlock, causing Lyla to race over and try to pull them apart._

"_Tank stop picking on your brother!" Lyla says, trying to separate the two boys. Tank reluctantly let's go of Ripp and sighs._

"_But mom," the child Tank says, "I was just doing the moves that dad taught me."_

"_Oh really?" Lyla responds, a hint of irritation in her voice, "Buzz!" she calls out._

_Buzz, walks into the living room and over to Lyla, "This better be important, I have to leave in ten minutes!"_

"_Buzz, I don't want you teaching Tank these moves," Lyla says, pointing behind to her two children standing behind her, "He's using them on his brother!"_

"_What's the big deal? It's just Ripp," Buzz replies._

_Lyla crosses her arms, the glare on her face growing bigger with each waking second. "Now you listen to me mister! You're about this close to sleeping in the garage, so you better shape-up and quit teaching Tank these things or it's over!"_

"_What?" Buzz asks, a car horn sounds from the side of the street. "I gotta go," he says before leaving his wife and children in silence._

Ripp sighs before continuing, "But my mother wasn't kidding, and as the days went on, their relationship got worse and worse. And then, one Tuesday afternoon, when my dad's boss was over, it finally happened…"

_A child Ripp is standing in the kitchen doorway, a look of panic on his face. He turns to his father who is seated at the table with a man with high military status. "Daddy?" Ripp calls out._

"_What is it son?" Buzz asks, not taking his eyes off of his boss._

"_Mommy's leaving."_

"_Oh you have got to be kidding me," Buzz states, getting up from off of the table and heading towards the door, "Honestly Lyla, now of all times?"_

_Buzz steps onto the front porch and turns toward the street, spotting a figure dressed in a blue sweatshirt and tan cargo pants stepping into a taxi. "Lyla!" Buzz shouts at the figure, his voice sounding surprisingly weak. _

_His boss, seeing the entire thing, walks over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Just let her go, you'll be better off without her," he states._

_Buzz watches in horror as the taxi drives away, unable to move. Behind him, Ripp is crying. _

Ripp sighs, unable to move his eyes up from the ground, "But I deep down, I knew that wouldn't be the last time that I would see my mom. In fact, I saw her the very next day; it just wasn't where I thought I would see her. You see, with all of her relatives deceased, my mother moved in with the only person that would understand how big of a jerk my father was, Olive Specter. With my mother now living with Olive, there was only one thing left to take care of…"

_Lyla Grunt is standing at the Strangetown Court Center with her son Ripp close behind her, talking to one of the county lawyers. "I would like to request custody of my three children please," she begins, "On the grounds that my husband is mentally unstable and cannot take care of them properly. Do you think I have a case?"_

_Creon Nigmos puts down his papers and glances at Lyla from behind his desk, "Of course," he smiles, adjusting his glasses, "You should be able to win this case easy."_

_Lyla and Creon both stand up and shake one another's hands, "Now come back tomorrow Lyla," Creon states, after letting go of her hand, "And we'll get this thing moving forward."_

_Lyla smiles before exiting the building with a young Ripp holding her hand. She steps in front of the steps and kneels down in front of him. "So what do you think? Do you want to live with your mother?" Lyla asks him._

_Ripp jumps up and smiles, "More than anything in the whole world!" Ripp says hugging his mother, "I love you mom."_

_Lyla smiles, "I love you too sweetie."_

Ripp stops talking and covers his face with his hands. Isabella couldn't tell exactly, but it seemed as though he was crying. Isabella looks down at the ground in sorrow before walking over to him and putting her hand around him in condolence.

After what seemed like hours, Ripp finally finds the strength to speak. "If I knew that was the last time I ever saw her, I would've said more than just a simple 'I love you.'"

Ripp sighs and wraps his arm around Isabella, holding her close, "The next day when I went over Olive's house, I saw an ambulance. Before I could even step into the door to see what happened, Olive came up to me and told me that my mother was electrocuted. She died," Ripp steps, struggling to hold back his tears, "It's not fair you know? Cause she had so much to live for. She had her whole life ahead of her, we both did. But on that day, she didn't just die, something else died with her. All of my hopes and dreams died with my mother, now I have nothing to live for, and I knew it, even back then. In fact, I remember my very last birthday…"

_Ripp is standing in front of the kitchen table with a cake in front of him. His teenaged brother Tank is behind him, along with his father General Buzz, who is carrying a young Buck in his arms. Child Ripp sighs and gazes down at the cake, unable to decide what aspiration he wanted to be._

"_Hurry up boy!" General Buzz calls out, "We don't have all day!"_

Ripp sighs and turns to Isabella, "With my dad pressuring me to make a decision, I decided to follow in the footsteps of the only person that I ever respected, the only person that ever made me feel like I mattered…"

"_I know exactly what I'm going to be now," the young Ripp speaks spinning into teenage-hood, "I'm going to be a Romance Sim!"_

"And with that I became I troubled Romance Sim, just like my mother. Unfortunately after I become what she was, my father began to treat me even worse and as a result of the grief that my brother experienced after my parents divorced, Tank began to pick on me twenty-four seven," Ripp sighs, "And that's my life in a nutshell."

There is silence in the garden, as Ripp looks into the distance, "I would give anything to bring her back, but that's impossible," Ripp sighs, "I guess I'll just have to face the fact that I'll never see her again. I just wish that people would learn to accept the truth like I have, my life is over. And I'll never be able to accomplish anything as long as I live."

Isabella turns to Ripp, brushing his arm off of her. She stands up and faces him, "So, that's it huh? You're just going to give up?"

Ripp sighs, his eyes glued to the ground.

"I'm surprised at you Ripp. If you give up now, it's like you're letting other people control you. It's like you're letting your dad win."

Ripp looks up at Isabella, a look of confusion spread across his face.

Isabella kneels down and places her hands on his shoulders, trying to make eye contact with him. "Look, your mother may be gone," Isabella states, "But that doesn't mean that she's not alive, she's still a part of you, she still lives in you."

"She does?" Ripp says, finally finding the courage to look Isabella in the eyes.

"Yes," Isabella says, "So don't give up now or ever, you're so close to getting out of there."

Isabella sits down next to Ripp, who is sitting on the ground starring into space. She turns to him, "I may not have known your mother, but I can guarantee that she wouldn't want you to suffer in silence like she did. She wouldn't want you to give up hope on things never getting better. She would want you to fight, succeed and never let go."

Isabella stops talking to gaze at Ripp. Ripp is still staring into the distance, with a blank expression on his face. After a few moments, he speaks up, "Isabella?" he says.

"Yeah?" Isabella responds.

"I want you to run away with me."

Ripp then lies down on the ground and closes his eyes, leaving Isabella in a state of uncertainty and shock. After a little while, she joins him lying on the ground; his arm wrapped around her. She sighs and closes her eyes before replying a soft, "Okay."


	12. Run Away Ripp!

Two years ago, I began this story after the success of my first sims story 'It's Raining Brad Burbs'. When I first published 'Strangetown, Meet the eXtremes,' there were only twenty sims stories in the archive (and it was the only story specifically about a family in Strangetown). Now I'm happy to say that both of those numbers have grown since then and will hopefully continue to after the publication of this last chapter.

As you know, this story is loosely based on events that happened to both the Grunt and eXtremes families in my Sims 2 game, and I enjoyed writing every word of it.

Now, I must warn you, chapter twelve of 'Strangetown, Meet the eXtremes' is the whole reason why the story is rated T. Also, another thing to keep in mind while reading this is that I don't hate any of these sims (not even the jerky ones), but just like people they are capable of both good and evil.

Well, assuming I haven't scared you off (which I really hope I didn't), here's the last chapter. Special thanks to everyone who took the time to read this, you guys are awesome!

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_Chapter Twelve_

The peaceful sounds of the gentle breeze swirling through the branches of the maple trees and the chirping blue jays, causes Ripp to slowly open his eyes. _"Wow, this is so peaceful…so serene…so-wait a minute!"_ Ripp quickly eyes his eyes and begins to frantically look around. Sure enough, he is no one near his bed at the Grunt residence. _"Crap! I must've accidentally fallen asleep in the garden just night, but that could only mean that-_Izzy!_" _Ripp calls out, shaking the girl lying down on the sand beneath him, "Izzy wake up! We overslept! We're doomed!"

Isabella yawns and slowly positions herself so that she's sitting up, she turns to Ripp groggy, "Ripp, what are you talking about?"

"No time!" Ripp replies, his voice turning to panic, "We have to get back home before-" Ripp looks down at his watch, "Crap! We're already late for school! Come on!"

Ripp quickly grabs Isabella by the hand as the two of them race over to the high school. They somehow manage to sneak inside and take their seats while their teacher is turned away from the rest of the class, writing on the blackboard.

Ophelia, who is seated next to Ripp, turns to him, "Pst, Ripp!" she whispers, causing Ripp to turn around and gaze at her, "Where were you?" she mouths.

Ripp stops to catch his breath before responding to his friend, "Well, you see-"

"Well, look who decided to finally show up to class," their teacher speaks, walking towards Ripp's desk in the front row and leaning towards him, "Mr. Grunt," she says stern, "Would you care to explain why you and Ms. eXtreme are late this morning?"

"Uhh," Ripp turns to glance at Isabella, who is seated to the other side of him, she frantically shakes her head no, a worried expression on her face.

"Mr. Grunt, I'm waiting," their teacher speaks once more.

"Uhh, I'd rather not," Ripp replies, giving her an innocent smile.

Not buying it, she slowly steps away from Ripp's desk and stands between the two of them, "Very well then, I'm sure you'll have a fun time explaining it to me after class," she says smirking, "Detention four times this week Mr. Grunt, this must be a new record."

Ripp groans as his teacher walks away and heads back toward the front of the classroom. He turns to Isabella who gives him a sympathetic look. "Sorry," she mouths.

SIX HOURS LATER

Isabella is standing outside of their classroom waiting for Ripp to get out of detention, after a few more minutes of waiting; he finally comes out the door. He smiles when he sees Isabella standing there. "How was it?" Isabella asks as he walks over to her.

"Eh, if you've been there once you've experienced it all," he replies, as they both walk down the hallway towards the exit of the high school.

Isabella sighs and stops walking, turning to Ripp, "Look, I'm really sorry," she begins, "I shouldn't have told you not to say anything. I was just scared that everyone would find out about us still seeing each other and we would be…dead."

Ripp smiles and laughs, "Don't worry about it," he replies, "Besides, it's not like we're going to be here much longer anyway."

"So, we're really going to go through with it?" Isabella asks, holding her books to her chest.

"Of course," Ripp responds, "I mean, if you still want to."

Isabella looks down to the floor in thought, before looking back up at Ripp with a smile, "Yeah, I still want to," she replies.

"Great," Ripp says, "So, I guess I'll see you tonight in the garden?"

"Sure," Isabella answers, "I'll see you then."

Isabella kisses Ripp on the cheek before waving goodbye and exiting out of the school, leaving Ripp alone with his thoughts. _"Wow, I can't believe we're actually going through with this,"_ he thinks to himself; he sighs, "This is going to be amazing."

"What's going to be amazing?" Tank asks, causing Ripp to turn around and face his brother, who is leaning against a row of lockers. Tank gets up and walks over to him, "What are you talking about?" he asks suspiciously.

"Uh, nothing," Ripp responds, backing towards the entrance, "I-I have to go!"

Ripp takes off down the hallway and rushes out the door, leaving Tank alone in the hallway, "Nothing huh?" he says aloud, his arms crossed, "We'll just see about that."

LATER THAT NIGHT

Ripp and Isabella are sitting in the garden cross-legged facing one another. "So," Ripp speaks into the silence of the nature surrounding them, "It's settled then, you and I will meet here in the garden tomorrow at midnight. I'll brings my earnings from my convenience job and you'll bring whatever else you can find that could be useful. Then, once we meet up, we'll run away together and head straight to Veronaville, where we'll start our new lives."

"Veronaville?" Isabella repeats, "Are you sure we shouldn't head to Pleasantview instead?"

"Psh, are you kidding?" Ripp responds, "I've read magazines filled with all of their citizens' problems. We'd be better off taking our chances with Romeo and Juliet."

Isabella smiles and softly laughs; she sighs, "I can't believe we're actually doing this."

"Yeah well, we're crazy and we're teenagers and we're in love, so of course we're going to do outrageous things," Ripp replies, a sudden look of worry forming on his face, "Wait, you're not having second thoughts are you?"

Isabella shakes her head, "No, I'm not," she responds, "Are you?"

"No," Ripp says, standing up and turning to her, his arm extended in assistance, "Come on, we should get up before we accidentally fall asleep again."

Isabella smiles and grabs his hand as he helps her up.

FIVE MINUTES LATER

Ripp and Isabella are standing in front of the Grunt residence, holding each other's hands. "Well, this is a first," Ripp says, his eyes shining, "You dropping me off."

Isabella smiles, "Yeah," she replies softly; she sighs, gazing up at the stars above them, "So, this is it huh? The last night we're ever going to be separated?"

Ripp nods, gazing up at the stars with Isabella; he places his arm around her, "Just think, by this time tomorrow, we'll be saying goodbye to Strangetown."

They spent a few moments in silence before Isabella sighs as she turns to face him one last time, "Goodbye Ripp."

Ripp sighs as he slowly backs away from her; he puts his right hand up to wave, "Bye Isabella."

And with that, Isabella exits the lot.

Ripp sighs heavily as he heads towards the back door of the Grunt estate. He stops when he notices one of the curtains moving; thinking nothing of it, he shrugs it off as he enters his dark house.

THE NEXT NIGHT

Isabella is in her bedroom happily packing up her suitcase; she smiles as she positions the last item of clothing perfectly into the last available space and closes it up.

She grabs the suitcase and heads toward the doorway of her room, to her surprise, Brent is standing there leaning on the doorframe.

"Hey Brent," Isabella says, her smile about a mile wide.

"Uh, hey," Brent responds, seemingly suspicious of his sister's wacky behavior, he looks down at her suitcase, "Uh, what's with the luggage?"

"Oh this?" Isabella says, not giving it a second thought, "I'm going to spend the night at Ophelia's house."

"Really?" Brent replies, unconvinced, "I didn't know you two were friends."

"Oh, we're friends alright," Isabella says, walking past her brother, "Well, I should probably be going now. Don't want to be late for the sleepover, you know?"

Brent raises his eyebrow in suspicion as he watches Isabella place her suitcase on the floor. She turns to him, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes, "Goodbye Brent," she says, throwing her arms around him.

"Uh, goodbye," Brent responds in confusion, before returning the hug. He watches as she exits the residence and heads in the opposite direction, passing Ophelia's house completely.

"Okay," he says, "Now I definitely know something's up."

MEANWHILE: AT THE GRUNT RESIDENCE

Ripp is walking down the stairs with a suitcase in hand; he turns to Buck, who is sitting in the living room watching a cartoon show, "Well, I'll see you later Buck," he says preparing to step out the door.

"Not so fast boy!" General Buzz responds, grabbing Ripp by the arm, "You're not going anywhere." With that, General Buzz drags Ripp back up the stairs and into his room; he let's go of his arm. "Don't make it look like I don't know what you're up to."

Ripp turns to his father, rubbing his aching arm in pain, "Dad, what are you talking about?"

"I know all about your little plan with this Isabella girl to run away from home," General Buzz says, "I know you've been completely disobeying me and seeing her behind my back."

Ripp, starting to feel weaker by the minute, struggles to speak, "But-but dad, that's not-"

"Quiet!" General Buzz shouts, pointing at his middle son, "I'm not done lecturing you yet! Now where was I? Oh yeah-DO I HAVE TO WATCH YOU EVERY SINGLE SECOND?"

Ripp holds his head in pain, feeling as if his entire world is spinning way to fast. "…YOU KNOW I NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS LIKE THIS WITH TANK, YOU ARE JUST A BAD CHILD, A FAILURE OF A GRUNT, A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY!"

"Gee, that's great dad," Ripp says, barely pay attention to his weekly rant, "Can I go now?"

General Buzz stops and looks at Ripp, an evil smirk forming on his face, "Oh you're not going anywhere," he says, taking something out of his pocket, "There's only one way to make sure that you don't run off!"

General Buzz grabs the handcuffs, attaching one end to Ripp's right wrist and another one to his wooden dresser. He turns to his son, watching him struggle to break free of it, "I'd like to see you try to get to your little friend now," he says, dusting his hands off as he exits the room. General Buzz turns to Tank, who is standing just outside the hallway, "Thanks for the heads-up son."

Ripp stops trying to break free from the handcuffs and turns to Tank, who is smirking in the doorway of his hallway. He walks over to him, "You," Ripp says in disgust, "I can't believe you would do this to me."

Tank continues to smirk, leaning closer to Ripp's face, "Well believe it," Tank says, "Because I did, and I would do it again it a heartbeat."

Tank exits out of the hallway, leaving Ripp alone with his thoughts, "_Great, just great. Isabella's waiting for me and I'm stuck to this thing,"_ he puts his arm up, causing the dresser to force it back down, _"There's got to be a way out of here._ _Think Ripp think,"_ Ripp sighs, coming up with nothing, _"Gosh, I hope she waits for me. I don't want her to think that I stood her up…"_

MEANWHILE: ON THE OTHER SIDE OF STRANGETOWN

Isabella is sitting in the garden, using her suitcase as a chair. She sighs as she looks down at her watch which reads '12:26 a.m.' "Ripp, where are you?" Isabella speaks into the silence.

MEANWHILE: BACK AT THE GRUNT RESIDENCE

"Err," Ripp grunts; trying to get his wrist out of the handcuffs, "Come on Ripp, leave your arm. Leave your arm," Ripp pulls himself back harder, only causing the dresser to scoot closer to him. Exhausted, Ripp sighs and flops on his bedroom floor defeated. "Oh this is hopeless," Ripp states, trying to catch his breath, "There's no way I'm going to get out of this one."

"Hey Ripp!" Buck exclaims, walking up the stairs towards his room.

"Buck wait!" Ripp calls out from next door, "Quick, you have to help me! Dad has me handcuffed to this dresser, you have to get me the key!"

Buck stops and turns to look at Ripp through the open doorway; confusion spread across his face, "Now why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, then I'm going to lose the only thing that ever made me believe that my life is worth living since mom," Ripp sighs, having a hard time reading his little brother, who is standing in the doorway, "So, will you do it for me?"

Buck smiles, "Okay."

Buck walks down the stairs and heads over to General Buzz who is sitting on the couch with Tank watching an historical documentary about Strangetown, he turns to him with his hands behind his back innocently, blocking his father's view.

"Hey daddy," Buck says, "Can I borrow some of your keys? We're doing tracings for school and I want to have the best ones in the class."

"Yeah sure son," General Buzz responds, moving around to try to see around him. Not thinking, he reaches into his pocket and gives Buck a whole pile of keys. "Here you go."

"Thanks daddy," Buck replies, before racing up the stairs and rounding the corner to Ripp's room; he dumps the keys on the floor of the room, "I got it Ripp!"

"Good job Buck," Ripp replies, digging through the keys, "Fortunately, dad is just as stupid as always. Now please help me find the key."

"Is this it?" Buck asks, holding up a silver medium-sized key.

"I don't know," Ripp responds, "Here, let's try it out."

Ripp puts the key in the keyhole and tries to open it, the key doesn't budge.

"No, try another one," Ripp says glancing at the clock which now reads '12:45 a.m.', "Quick! Before it's too late!"

Ripp and Buck try at least seven more keys until Ripp finally comes across a small golden key in the bottom of the pile; he smiles, "Buck, this is it!"

Ripp grabs the key and turns it, sure enough the handcuffs open, causing Ripp to grasp his newly freed right wrist in joy. "Yes! We did it!" Ripp hugs his little brother in gratitude, "Thanks Buck! I gotta go!"

Ripp races out of his room and down the stairs, he passes by the living room as he makes his way out of the front door.

"Ripp?" General Buzz exclaims, preparing to get up from the couch.

Tank turns to his dad, getting up out of his seat, "Don't worry dad, I'll get him," he says, anger filling his voice, "He won't get away from me this time, I'll make sure of it!"

MEANWHILE: ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

Ripp is racing down the street, going as fast as his legs could take him. _"Come on Ripp, you have to make it! You have to! Work harder, run faster, you can do this! This is Isabella, this is the love of your life and you're not leaving her behind!" _

"Ripp!" a familiar voice calls from behind him, "Get back here!"

"Aww crap," Ripp says quietly to himself; "Why me?"

Ripp turns around, and sure enough, he finds his older brother Tank chasing after him, gaining speed.

"_Dang it,"_ Ripp thinks to himself, _"There's no way I can possibly outrun Tank," _Ripp's eyes glimmer with hope when he spots the garden in the distance, _"But don't worry Isabella, I'm coming!"_

MEANWHILE: IN THE GARDEN

Isabella is still sitting in the garden; she glances at her watch which now reads '1:12 a.m.' and sighs. "I guess he's not coming," Isabella says, feeling the tears forming in her eyes, "I guess I didn't mean anything to him after all…" Isabella sniffles before grabbing her suitcase and heading towards the end of the garden; she looks up at the stars, "Goodbye Ripp," she says, as she wipes her last fallen tears with her right arm, the silence of the Road to Nowhere making her heart break with every beat.

MEANWHILE: ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

Ripp races towards the garden, going so fast that he can no longer feel his legs. He stops when he notices that the garden is empty. "Isabella?" he calls out into the passing wind, "ISABELLA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I'll tell you where she is," a voice speaks out from behind him, "But first, I need to do something I should've a long time ago."

Ripp, now filling with devastation, continues to look for Isabella, completely ignoring the voice behind him. Without warning, he is tackled to the floor. He looks up, only to find his older brother Tank glaring down at him.

"I'm sick of you running away," Tank says, his voice sounding surprisingly dark, "I'm sick of you always breaking the rules and making me look bad in front of dad when I fail to control you. If you can break my pride, then I'll just have to break you!"

"Tank, what are you doing?" Ripp asks, clouds starting to gather in the sky above them. Tank punches Ripp on the side of his face, causing Ripp to fall to the floor face first.

Ripp slowly gets up, holding the right side of his face in pain. He takes his hand off of his face horrified when he finds it covered in blood.

"Ooh, did I hurt you?" Tank asks, getting scarier with every step he takes, "What's the matter Ripp? Aren't you going to fight back?"

"Why are you doing this?" Ripp asks, feeling his body get weak. Tank kicks him in the stomach, causing Ripp to cry out in pain before rolling back into the mud again.

Tank steps forward, thunder crackling from above, "I'm just doing the whole neighborhood a favor. After all, you don't deserve to live."

Ripp looks down at the ground, thinking about everything that happened today; thinking about Isabella. Ripp sighs, feeling the rain lightly pour on his face, "You're right. So do it Tank, kill me."

Not holding back, Tank pulls his right arm behind him and prepares to give Ripp a final punch. His fist is about to reach him, when it is stopped by somebody's hand.

Lightning strikes the sky as Tank turns around, finding a tall elderly woman with silver hair, wearing a black-lined flowing dress standing behind him.

"That's enough Tank," Olive speaks to the camo-faced boy, "You punch him one more time and prison's not the only thing you'll have to worry about."

Tank, terrified by the old witchy dressed woman, quietly draws back and retreats for his house.

Olive walks over to an injured Ripp and helps him up from the mud, "Thanks Olive," Ripp speaks, "I guess."

Olive crouches down to Ripp's level and gazes at him straight in the eyes, "You know, you don't have to live like this. Your mother wouldn't want you to live like this."

Ripp sighs, wiping some of the mud off of his face, "I know," he says, "But what choice do I have? I was born into this and I'll die in this."

"Not necessarily," Olive says, with her hands on both of Ripp's shoulders, "What if you moved in with Ophelia and I? I'm sure she wouldn't mind it, in fact, we'd both love to have you. Then you wouldn't have to worry about Tank beating you up or your dad doing something stupid ever again," Olive softly smiles and holds out her hand, "So, what do you say? Would you like to become a member of the Specter family?"

Ripp looks down at the ground and sighs, "Thanks Olive, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass."

Olive is heartbroken as she stands up to speak, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ripp nods, "My life is over."

The next night, Ripp is sitting in the center of Olive's garden, in front of his mother's grave. His eyes begin to water as he spots the flowers that Isabella placed on her grave three days ago. _"Isabella, I'm so sorry," _Ripp says to himself, _"I never meant for my dad to ruin everything, I really didn't. I really love you."_ Ripp sighs and looks at his mother's grave, "Help me mom," he states, "What do I do?"

Ripp gazes at his mother's grave, his eyes randomly stop on the bottom of it, which is covered with old dirt. Thinking nothing of it, Ripp begins to scrap it off with his hands. He steps back in disbelief when he reads what is engraved on the bottom of it, three words: Never Give Up.

Ripp stands in silence for a few moments, thinking back to everything that had happened those last few months. Aching to clear his mind, he picks up a stick that he finds in the grass next to him and begins to write in the sand: "Everything that I went through with Isabella that summer had made me realize something; maybe life was worth living after all. If I wanted to go to college, who's to say that I couldn't? I could do whatever I wanted with my life because it was mine, and no one could ever change that. Maybe that's what Olive was trying to get me to realize all along; my dad wasn't in control of my life, I was. And it was up to me to figure out what to do with it," Ripp steps back to admire his work, he sighs as he writes one last thought that wandered into his mind, "I could live with the regret of never going to Johnny Smith's eighth birthday party or maybe even the regret that I never took those violin lessons that my mother wanted me to take, but I could never live knowing that I broke Isabella's heart, the only girl I'll ever love."

Ripp steps back and gazes at the stars above him in silence, he sighs before thinking the last line of his confession to himself, _"But the worst part is, Isabella thought I never came…"_

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**Author's Note:** Well there you have it! After two years of working on this story, I finally finished it! I'd like to thank everyone who favorited, reviewed and read this story, as well as all those who supported me through writing this and sent me messages inspiring me to continue. Of all of my stories that I have posted so far, this is definitely one of my favorites. I hope it was as enjoyable reading this story as it was writing it. Thank you guys so much! You are amazing!

Now, this story does have a sequel (since I wouldn't make Ripp's whole life this depressing). The sequel is entitled "Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt" and it has actually been up since September, if you guys want to check it out. I promise that it won't take two years to be completed (even though it is going to be significantly longer than the original), and it follows Ripp, Isabella, Tank & Brent through their college days.

Thanks again for reading this story, feel free to comment or review telling me what you think about it. It would be much appreciated. : D

~ SClownzZzZz


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